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338 ruger 77

i have a 338 ruger 77 i plan on using for elk this year, its loaded with an older leapould scope but just aint happy with the scope. what do u guys recomend for a quality scope that i wont pay over 550 for? i love nikon, redfield i heard is making some great turns on thier optics, any feedback?

back packing, i usualy use my win 270 m70 but i drew an idaho's super hunt tag this year for elk and want to beable to reach out there a bit further and still cause damage if u know what i mean. im not a big fan of long shots, furthest id be shooting is 400 if no other way to get closer. way comfortable with my 270 though and am torn if i should just stick with it or go bigger just incase.

That is a great elk cartridge, and will work great for your uses. Just plan on getting some good range time with it.

If you want to get to 400 yards a holdover reticle could be really usefull. Lots of companies have them. I like a few of them including the HHR reticle from Sightron, Dead Hold BDC from Vortex, and the Rapid Z reticles from Zeiss.

You don't need much magnification to shoot accurately to 400 yards, or even farther, so something in the 3-9, 3.5-10, 4-12 range would be ideal I think. That will keep your exit pupils sufficient for calibrated reticle use in low light.

My son has a Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44mm with the Z600 reticle and that sure is a great scope and simple to use.

He also has a 4.5-14x40mm Leupold with the B&C reticle on a different rifle and it too is very user friendly. I am a huge Leupold fan, but the Zeiss is pretty darn sweet. BB knows his stuff when it comes to optics and gives good sound advise. These are two I like.

If you want to go cheap and rugged, try the Burris Fullfield II with Ballistic Plex reticle. I really like them I have two, One on a 270WSM and the other on a 300 WSM. I have not had any problems with them. They are bright, clear, and only cost about $200.00. They also come with a lifetime warranty. The drop compensator's go out to 600 yards for magnum calibers and 500 yards for non-mag calibers.

I have mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of Leupold's B&C reticle, but many are.

The other issue I have with VX-3 series is the variable eye relief. Eye relief varies almost 1/2" between the max and min magnification. That means a different cheek weld. It is my undertanding that the new VX-6 series has constant eye relief, but I haven't tested one yet, and it is well above the OP's price range.

The above Sightron varies about .2 inches, which is easier to deal with.

The Vortex and Zeiss have constant, long eye relief. They are really nice in that area.